


Maybe We're A Strange Love

by geckoholic



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Developing Relationship, Domestic, Established Eddie Brock/Venom Symbiote, Fluff, M/M, Male Pronouns for Venom Symbiote (Marvel), Remix, Romance Novel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-10 02:53:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20520761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geckoholic/pseuds/geckoholic
Summary: Eddie loves romance novels. Venom gets curious.





	Maybe We're A Strange Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sqbr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sqbr/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Eddie and Venom: Hanging Out](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/516638) by sqbr on deviant art. 

> Many wonderful artworks to remix for this one, and I picked... somewhat cracky fluff. How out of character. XD 
> 
> Not beta'd, so all remaining mistakes are most definitely mine.
> 
> Title is from "Timeless" by Rob Thomas.

One of the reasons why Eddie favors Mrs. Chen's shops is the fact that a) she carries a wide variety of those cheap romance novels a college girlfriend got him into as emotional comfort food during hard times, and b) she never once made fun of him for buying them. Actually, it's about the only item he's buying at her shop that she never remarked on. She even keeps a straight face whenever she informs him that she's got a couple new ones, and maybe he'd like to take a few of them home. 

He's absentmindedly thumbing through a pirate-themed novel one day when Venom rears his head. Metaphorically, not literally – unless it's an emergency, Mrs. Chen has strictly forbidden Venom to show himself in her store, lest they scare her costumers. The writing seems decent enough, despite the ridiculous cover design. The heroine is laid out on a hammock, wearing only a skimpy bikini, in a position that, Eddie's pretty sure, the laws of anatomy would never allow. In the background, her pirate lover is shown on deck of his ship. He's got an eye patch, of course, and a parrot perches on his shoulder. He's got his long, jet-black hair pulled together into a ponytail that's swaying in the breeze. It's awful. Eddie loves it. 

_What is that about?_ Venom wants to know. 

“Love,” Eddie mumbles under his breath. “Love and happy endings.” 

Venom seems to chew on that for a moment. They've talked about love, and Eddie's rather sure that Venom is familiar with the term _happy ending_ through osmosis by now, and yet Eddie expects more questions. But the silence stretches as Eddie places the book in his shopping basket, moving on to the frozen meals, and he's almost forgotten to expect a reply when Venom asks, a bit hesitantly, _Can we read it together?_

They both know that Venom could dip into every thought that runs through Eddie's head, that he wouldn't need to ask, but they've been working on the finer points of sharing a body lately. Eddie needs some privacy here and there, and that means, he's been trying to teach Venom how to ask permission for things. The results have been mixed, so far, Venom still forgets to ask permission here and there. But it's a start, and, occasional impulsive misfire aside, they're getting along pretty well. 

Eddie smiles. He nods. “Sure, why not? We'll start reading after we get home.” 

***

“Alright,” Eddie says, once he's cleared away his groceries, and vaults over the back of the couch with the book in one hand. “Shall we start?” 

Venom plops out at his waist and cocks his head. _”Not yet,”_ he says, extending further from Eddie's body, curling around him. Eddie doesn't understand at first, but when Venom gently prods him towards the corner of the room and scoops him up, gently molding himself around him, Eddie manages to catch up. A hammock. Venom is making himself into a hammock. It's super comfortable, too, and Eddie snuggles closer, shifting into a good reading position. He opens the book on the first page of the first chapter and starts reading. Venom listens, enchanted, his head popping out from behind Eddie's back, his eyes tracking Eddie's movements every time he turns the page. He listens in attentive silence, only interrupted by a gasp every time someone's in danger and an exasperated sigh whenever the heroine does something particularly stupid out of her pure and undying love for the pirate captain. And since Venom seems to be having fun and they don't have plans for the rest of the day, he keeps reading. Once or twice he pats Venom's head and asks to be let down for a glass of water, a pee break, or to stretch his legs, but he always returns and picks the book back up to continue where they left off. 

About halfway through the novel – they're never all that long, maybe 200 pages apiece – Venom gets impatient. “Eddie,” he demands, head flicking back and forth, then dipping forward to give the book a light nudge. “Eddie, they'll kiss soon, right? Get to the part where they kiss.” 

“Yeah, yeah, I'm getting there,” Eddie assures. Going from experience with piles of those novels over the years, he suspects it'll be maybe another 30 or so pages until the heroine melts into the arms of her pirate for the very first time, kissing him desperately and like she never kissed anyone else before in her whole usually about 20 years of age. 

Venom ducks back down, and something about the motion is almost bashful. Distantly, Eddie wonders whether their symbiosis means that Venom likes certain things because Eddie likes them, or if that's owed to their physical and mental compatibility. The tempestuous affair between the heroine and the pirate continues, and right on cue, after 25 more pages, lips are being locked on the page in the throes of steamy passion. There's still a last handful of chapters to go, so there'll either be another short obstacle, sex on the beach, one last contrived point of contact, before the story ends, but maybe Eddie should save that for another day. 

He earmarks his position and puts the book away, hefting an eyebrow at Venom, who pouts at the mere suggestion that story-time is about to be over. 

“More tomorrow?” he demands, and Eddie nods. 

“Sure,” he says. “And once we're done with this one, we can hit up Mrs. Chen again and buy some more. You can pick which one we'll read next. Would you like that?” 

Venom grins, his head twitching from side to side. “Yes, I would like that very much.” 

Then he surges forward for a kiss of their own, so sudden and unexpected that Eddie almost loses his balance, rescued only by Venom's tightening of the hammock. Startled, Eddie yelps into the kiss, but it turns into a laugh when it occurs to him how none of those novel writers could ever think up a story like theirs.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [dreamwidth](https://geckoholic.dreamwidth.org/), [tumblr](http://lostemotion.tumblr.com) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/spacenerdz).


End file.
